Teacher Mandy
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My name is Mandy. I have been teaching in Taiwan for seven years at Wu Chi Junior High School in Taichung, Taiwan. I am originally from the U.S. where I obtained a B.A. in Spanish, a B.S. in Spanish Education, and M.A. in TESOL. I love traveling and seeing the beauty that other countries have to offer as well as getting insight to the cultures within them. In my free time I enjoy playing basketball, reading, going out with friends, Chinese calligraphy, and exploring Taiwan.
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Philosophy of Teaching
I. Second Language Acquisition
When it comes to language learning, I don’t believe that there is one “right” approach to it because there are so many today that produce language-learning results; it just depends on what the teacher’s beliefs are. My language learning beliefs steer very much in the direction of Communicative Language Teaching and away from the Grammar Translation Method. It still surprises me that it has been around since the nineteenth century and has not completely disappeared considering its lack of theory and ability to enhance communication skills in its learners. This method uses rote memorization of vocabulary and grammar rules with the outcome of being able to read texts and produce perfect translations from L1 to L2 and vice versa. Classes are taught primarily using L1 with little use of L2, hardly have any emphasis or focus on pronunciation, and drills and exercises consist of translation practice between the two languages. Because of this, students do not develop communication skills and are limited to having just the abilities of reading and translating. Despite the drawbacks to this method, it is still highly used worldwide due to many textbooks and exams following the Grammar Translation Method’s format.
Language shouldn’t be just a subject in school that students need to pass for a grade. It should be learned as a tool that is used for communication. I’ve been the student learning a language for a grade, but I’ve also been the student learning a language that enables me to communicate with others. As a language learner myself, I much prefer a communicative approach that not only teaches me vocabulary, grammar, and syntax, but how to use it effectively. This is why Communicative Language Teaching is the theory that I follow because the ultimate goal is using the language receptively and productively. During my teachings, to reach this goal, variations of materials are used such as: dialogues that promote communicative functions, translations when necessary, peripheral drilling, reading and writing, etc. Students will go through a lot of trial and error in their struggles to communicate, but this constant interaction and involvement with the L2 is how their language develops preparing them for real-world language use.
My Communicative Approach also takes on a leaner-centered focus aiming to meet the students’ needs and styles. To meet these needs, other techniques are incorporated into my teachings as well. The first one is cooperative learning where students are working together to reach and accomplish a goal and objective. This can take some time to establish, but well worth the effort when you see students working diligently together. The second one is interactive learning. For communicative competence to occur, interaction with the language has to be happening. I very often utilize pair work to have them performing tasks that will make them work with the language in ways that prepare them for real-world usage. Overall, my main goal is to get students to work with, manipulate, and use the language. Mistakes will occur, but that is a part of learning.
II. Approach to Teaching English Language Learners
It’s very important to know the English levels your students are at in order to make appropriate decisions about how to teach them. When instructing beginning levels, presentation of material is crucial. The teacher should maintain a natural tone, but be sure to slow down and articulate to ensure that the leaners have a chance to understand. Also, modeling is necessary as well. I have a group of students that are at novice low/novice high level and any lesson I do with them, I have to model everything. Without the modeling, they have no idea what I want them to do because their listening comprehension is too low. But, they have great attitudes and are in the struggle with me by paying attention and trying to figure out what it is they are going to do. As long as my modeling is clear, concise, prepared, and includes vocabulary they are familiar with, they get it. It takes longer than normal or desired, but in the end we have success.
The activities beginning ELLs do must be realistic to their abilities. Asking beginning level students to write a creative story or be creative is not a realistic task for them because they do not have enough language under their control for that. In the beginning with these leaners, the teacher is also going to find her or his lessons are teacher-centered in order to keep things moving along. During lessons, however, students can be periodically set to work in groups or pairs to accomplish tasks and start getting them into an interactive mind-set. These tasks should be brief and highly structured with specific objectives aligned with them. The students’ language is limited, so a task that it complicated or extensive would be too overwhelming for them.
The previously mentioned modeling is also important with advanced ELLs as well, but not as time consuming since their comprehension level is much higher. When setting advanced learners to a task after modeling, the teacher needs to make sure to keep control of the time because it can be very easy to sit back in the student-centered role and let them work with their proficiency level being what it is. If the teacher doesn’t keep control and maintain a director role, the amount of what the students were originally supposed to accomplish can get cut marginally. It’s important to keep them on track to ensure effective learning opportunities.
Advanced learners also need a different form presentation of material than beginners do. The rate of speech should not be too slow in order to keep them challenged continuing their listening development. More challenging vocabulary, grammar structures, and phrases should also be used. By keeping it too simple, advanced leaners can get bored and the teacher is essentially reducing their preparation for real-world English. Their tasks no longer need have an emphasis on grammatical patterns. Now, linguistic metalangauge is more useful as they are can have tasks with more of a creative and complex aspect to them such as: role-plays, debates, writing essays and critiques.
III. Role of the English Language Professional
My current teaching setting is in a public junior high school in Taiwan. My classes serve as a supplemental English class so students have a chance to interact and have a class with a native speaker. Each group of students comes to have class with me once every other week. I learned very quickly that having class with a native speaker is a very exciting, but very intimidating thing for my students. Many of them, on their first class with me, are very shy, timid, and all around nervous. As my role as a teacher, I need to eliminate that intimidation and nervousness.
The first step with them is getting these students to relax and trust me. I use a lot of body language and carefully designed lessons so they can understand me without actually understanding a word that is coming out of my mouth. When they realize they can get what is going on, they start to relax and have the realization that this isn’t so bad after all. When this happens the doors really start to open with what they are willing to try and do during class. Little by little we do activities and drills that just promote trying. There are no rewards or punishments. The purpose and focus is that this classroom is a safe learning environment for everyone and we are in it together. Something that has really helped me create this environment is having taken the time to really get to know the students here. I know what works for them and what doesn’t. I also know what their fears are about English and don’t push them to do anything until I see their abilities are developed enough to have success with the task. This all takes time, but once I start to see these abilities grown and they are willing to try to use them with or without errors, all that time was worth it. They go from students who were terrified to students who walk into a class with a native speaker with comfort, confidence, and eagerness to know what today’s lesson is about.
As for my role in a different setting such as in the U.S. as an ELL teacher, it is of such importance that students coming from other countries have people advocating for them. They don’t necessarily know the resources available to them, how to access them, or how to even go about advocating for themselves without someone’s help. The people on the front lines helping should be the teachers. They are working with these kids every day to help them succeed in a new system, so who better to advocate for them; not only with their rights to education, but preservation of their own language and culture as well. This avocation doesn’t necessarily have to be in the form of changing legislation, but organizing cultural events within the school and community, celebrating their culture in the classroom, and promoting the learning of their native language. When I think about the U.S. during the Permissive Period when maintaining ancestral ways of life while participating in the ways of life of the nation was certainly feasible, makes me sad. How did we become a country that is willing to shut down other’s nationalities, culture, histories, and language? There is so much to not only learn about each other, but to learn from each as well. By getting out in the community and opening the doors to learning about each other, more acceptance of the “newcomers” can be achieved. We, as a nation, have already lost so much of the original language and culture that first arrived to this country; I know I don’t want the same thing to happen to my students who are coming to the country today.
IV. Integration of Faith and Professional Role in the Field of ESL
“ We all are created equal” is something that I have heard many times throughout my life. I sometimes struggle to agree with this, but in the end I always do because we are all born innocent and free of judgmental, racist, sexist, or prejudicial behavior, and that is equal. Unfortunately, soon after we have come into this world; that is not the case. Our gender, race, economic status, culture, etc., categorize us into how we are perceived and often how we perceive ourselves. I have to wonder when did we as human beings start doing this, or maybe it has always been this way. It can be maddening thinking so much on other’s actions and how we as humans should treat each other. I know that, I as one person, cannot change the world, but maybe I can make a change that matters in individual lives with my privilege of being a teacher. I will not judge or have any prejudice against my students because I know in God’s eyes, they are equal and they are all his children. It’s merely my job to give them the best of me to help them become the best they can be. For this attitude, I have my parents to thank. They taught me that I am lucky to have what I have, and there are so many other’s out there that are treated unfairly for no good reason. Those people are no different than us.
When it comes to language learning, I don’t believe that there is one “right” approach to it because there are so many today that produce language-learning results; it just depends on what the teacher’s beliefs are. My language learning beliefs steer very much in the direction of Communicative Language Teaching and away from the Grammar Translation Method. It still surprises me that it has been around since the nineteenth century and has not completely disappeared considering its lack of theory and ability to enhance communication skills in its learners. This method uses rote memorization of vocabulary and grammar rules with the outcome of being able to read texts and produce perfect translations from L1 to L2 and vice versa. Classes are taught primarily using L1 with little use of L2, hardly have any emphasis or focus on pronunciation, and drills and exercises consist of translation practice between the two languages. Because of this, students do not develop communication skills and are limited to having just the abilities of reading and translating. Despite the drawbacks to this method, it is still highly used worldwide due to many textbooks and exams following the Grammar Translation Method’s format.
Language shouldn’t be just a subject in school that students need to pass for a grade. It should be learned as a tool that is used for communication. I’ve been the student learning a language for a grade, but I’ve also been the student learning a language that enables me to communicate with others. As a language learner myself, I much prefer a communicative approach that not only teaches me vocabulary, grammar, and syntax, but how to use it effectively. This is why Communicative Language Teaching is the theory that I follow because the ultimate goal is using the language receptively and productively. During my teachings, to reach this goal, variations of materials are used such as: dialogues that promote communicative functions, translations when necessary, peripheral drilling, reading and writing, etc. Students will go through a lot of trial and error in their struggles to communicate, but this constant interaction and involvement with the L2 is how their language develops preparing them for real-world language use.
My Communicative Approach also takes on a leaner-centered focus aiming to meet the students’ needs and styles. To meet these needs, other techniques are incorporated into my teachings as well. The first one is cooperative learning where students are working together to reach and accomplish a goal and objective. This can take some time to establish, but well worth the effort when you see students working diligently together. The second one is interactive learning. For communicative competence to occur, interaction with the language has to be happening. I very often utilize pair work to have them performing tasks that will make them work with the language in ways that prepare them for real-world usage. Overall, my main goal is to get students to work with, manipulate, and use the language. Mistakes will occur, but that is a part of learning.
II. Approach to Teaching English Language Learners
It’s very important to know the English levels your students are at in order to make appropriate decisions about how to teach them. When instructing beginning levels, presentation of material is crucial. The teacher should maintain a natural tone, but be sure to slow down and articulate to ensure that the leaners have a chance to understand. Also, modeling is necessary as well. I have a group of students that are at novice low/novice high level and any lesson I do with them, I have to model everything. Without the modeling, they have no idea what I want them to do because their listening comprehension is too low. But, they have great attitudes and are in the struggle with me by paying attention and trying to figure out what it is they are going to do. As long as my modeling is clear, concise, prepared, and includes vocabulary they are familiar with, they get it. It takes longer than normal or desired, but in the end we have success.
The activities beginning ELLs do must be realistic to their abilities. Asking beginning level students to write a creative story or be creative is not a realistic task for them because they do not have enough language under their control for that. In the beginning with these leaners, the teacher is also going to find her or his lessons are teacher-centered in order to keep things moving along. During lessons, however, students can be periodically set to work in groups or pairs to accomplish tasks and start getting them into an interactive mind-set. These tasks should be brief and highly structured with specific objectives aligned with them. The students’ language is limited, so a task that it complicated or extensive would be too overwhelming for them.
The previously mentioned modeling is also important with advanced ELLs as well, but not as time consuming since their comprehension level is much higher. When setting advanced learners to a task after modeling, the teacher needs to make sure to keep control of the time because it can be very easy to sit back in the student-centered role and let them work with their proficiency level being what it is. If the teacher doesn’t keep control and maintain a director role, the amount of what the students were originally supposed to accomplish can get cut marginally. It’s important to keep them on track to ensure effective learning opportunities.
Advanced learners also need a different form presentation of material than beginners do. The rate of speech should not be too slow in order to keep them challenged continuing their listening development. More challenging vocabulary, grammar structures, and phrases should also be used. By keeping it too simple, advanced leaners can get bored and the teacher is essentially reducing their preparation for real-world English. Their tasks no longer need have an emphasis on grammatical patterns. Now, linguistic metalangauge is more useful as they are can have tasks with more of a creative and complex aspect to them such as: role-plays, debates, writing essays and critiques.
III. Role of the English Language Professional
My current teaching setting is in a public junior high school in Taiwan. My classes serve as a supplemental English class so students have a chance to interact and have a class with a native speaker. Each group of students comes to have class with me once every other week. I learned very quickly that having class with a native speaker is a very exciting, but very intimidating thing for my students. Many of them, on their first class with me, are very shy, timid, and all around nervous. As my role as a teacher, I need to eliminate that intimidation and nervousness.
The first step with them is getting these students to relax and trust me. I use a lot of body language and carefully designed lessons so they can understand me without actually understanding a word that is coming out of my mouth. When they realize they can get what is going on, they start to relax and have the realization that this isn’t so bad after all. When this happens the doors really start to open with what they are willing to try and do during class. Little by little we do activities and drills that just promote trying. There are no rewards or punishments. The purpose and focus is that this classroom is a safe learning environment for everyone and we are in it together. Something that has really helped me create this environment is having taken the time to really get to know the students here. I know what works for them and what doesn’t. I also know what their fears are about English and don’t push them to do anything until I see their abilities are developed enough to have success with the task. This all takes time, but once I start to see these abilities grown and they are willing to try to use them with or without errors, all that time was worth it. They go from students who were terrified to students who walk into a class with a native speaker with comfort, confidence, and eagerness to know what today’s lesson is about.
As for my role in a different setting such as in the U.S. as an ELL teacher, it is of such importance that students coming from other countries have people advocating for them. They don’t necessarily know the resources available to them, how to access them, or how to even go about advocating for themselves without someone’s help. The people on the front lines helping should be the teachers. They are working with these kids every day to help them succeed in a new system, so who better to advocate for them; not only with their rights to education, but preservation of their own language and culture as well. This avocation doesn’t necessarily have to be in the form of changing legislation, but organizing cultural events within the school and community, celebrating their culture in the classroom, and promoting the learning of their native language. When I think about the U.S. during the Permissive Period when maintaining ancestral ways of life while participating in the ways of life of the nation was certainly feasible, makes me sad. How did we become a country that is willing to shut down other’s nationalities, culture, histories, and language? There is so much to not only learn about each other, but to learn from each as well. By getting out in the community and opening the doors to learning about each other, more acceptance of the “newcomers” can be achieved. We, as a nation, have already lost so much of the original language and culture that first arrived to this country; I know I don’t want the same thing to happen to my students who are coming to the country today.
IV. Integration of Faith and Professional Role in the Field of ESL
“ We all are created equal” is something that I have heard many times throughout my life. I sometimes struggle to agree with this, but in the end I always do because we are all born innocent and free of judgmental, racist, sexist, or prejudicial behavior, and that is equal. Unfortunately, soon after we have come into this world; that is not the case. Our gender, race, economic status, culture, etc., categorize us into how we are perceived and often how we perceive ourselves. I have to wonder when did we as human beings start doing this, or maybe it has always been this way. It can be maddening thinking so much on other’s actions and how we as humans should treat each other. I know that, I as one person, cannot change the world, but maybe I can make a change that matters in individual lives with my privilege of being a teacher. I will not judge or have any prejudice against my students because I know in God’s eyes, they are equal and they are all his children. It’s merely my job to give them the best of me to help them become the best they can be. For this attitude, I have my parents to thank. They taught me that I am lucky to have what I have, and there are so many other’s out there that are treated unfairly for no good reason. Those people are no different than us.